Board Aircraft Research Articles

The Protocol to Amend the Convention on Offences and Certain Acts Committed on Board Aircraft: A Missed Opportunity or a Sufficient Modernization?

The Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraftwas established to deal with the legalities of unruly passengers. Due to the modernization of the aviation industry and the increasing number of offences, the original Convention needed to be updated. This paper addresses the rationale behind the need to amend the Convention, the views from those States and entities represented at the 2014 International Conference on Air Law in Montreal, the amendments that made it into the Protocol, and the question of whether the amendments went far enough.

Bacteria that Travel: The Quality of Aircraft Water.

The travelling population is increasing globally year on year. International tourist arrival figures reached 1087 million in 2013 and 1133 million in 2014; of which 53% and 54% respectively accounted for air transport. The water on board aircraft is sourced from surface or ground water; piped to a central filling point and distributed to each aircraft by water service vehicles at the home base or at the destination airport. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the microbial, chemical (pH; Total and Free chlorine) and physical (temperature) quality of water from two aircraft, long- and short-haul, as well as from the original water source and the water service vehicle. A total of 154 water samples were collected and analysed. Long-haul flights were found to be significantly poorer in terms of microbial quality than short haul flights (p = 0.015). Furthermore, correlation and regression analysis showed that the water service vehicle was a significant source of increased microbial load in aircraft. Microbial diversity was also demonstrated, with 37 bacterial species identified belonging to eight classes: γ-Proteobacteria; β-Proteobacteria; α-Proteobacteria; Bacilli; Actinobacteria; Flavobacteria; Sphingobacteria and Cytophaga; using phenotypic and 16S rDNA sequence-based analysis. We present a novel quantified study of aircraft-related potable water supplies.

Preliminary analysis of the forest health state based on multispectral images acquired by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Abstract The main purpose of this publication is to present the current progress of the work associated with the use of a lightweight unmanned platforms for various environmental studies. Current development in information technology, electronics and sensors miniaturisation allows mounting multispectral cameras and scanners on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that could only be used on board aircraft and satellites. Remote Sensing Division in the Institute of Aviation carries out innovative researches using multisensory platform and lightweight unmanned vehicle to evaluate the health state of forests in Wielkopolska province. In this paper, applicability of multispectral images analysis acquired several times during the growing season from low altitude (up to 800m) is presented. We present remote sensing indicators computed by our software and common methods for assessing state of trees health. The correctness of applied methods is verified using analysis of satellite scenes acquired by Landsat 8 OLI instrument (Operational Land Imager).

Upper tropospheric ozone production from lightning NOx‐impacted convection: Smoke ingestion case study from the DC3 campaign

AbstractAs part of the Deep Convective Cloud and Chemistry (DC3) experiment, the National Science Foundation/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Gulfstream‐V (GV) and NASA DC‐8 research aircraft probed the chemical composition of the inflow and outflow of two convective storms (north storm, NS, south storm, SS) originating in the Colorado region on 22 June 2012, a time when the High Park wildfire was active in the area. A wide range of trace species were measured on board both aircraft including biomass burning (BB) tracers hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and acetonitrile (ACN). Acrolein, a much shorter lived tracer for BB, was also quantified on the GV. The data demonstrated that the NS had ingested fresh smoke from the High Park fire and as a consequence had a higher VOC OH reactivity than the SS. The SS lofted aged fire tracers along with other boundary layer ozone precursors and was more impacted by lightning NOx (LNOx) than the NS. The NCAR master mechanism box model was initialized with measurements made in the outflow of the two storms. The NS and SS were predicted to produce 11 and 14 ppbv of O3, respectively, downwind of the storm over 2 days. Sensitivity tests revealed that the ozone production potential of the SS was highly dependent on LNOx. Normalized excess mixing ratios, ΔX/ΔCO, for HCN and ACN were determined in both the fire plume and the storm outflow and found to be 7.0 ± 0.5 and 2.3 ± 0.5 pptv ppbv−1, respectively, and 1.4 ± 0.3 pptv ppbv−1 for acrolein in the outflow only.

Terrain-Induced Turbulence Intensity during Tropical Cyclone Passage as Determined from Airborne, Ground-Based, and Remote Sensing Sources

AbstractLow-level turbulence [rapid headwind fluctuations below 1600 ft (500 m)] poses potential safety hazards to landing/departing aircraft and is capable of disrupting air traffic. Timely, accurate alerts of low-level turbulence require reliable determination of its intensity, quantified by an internationally adopted aircraft-independent metric [cube root of the eddy dissipation rate (EDR1/3)], which cannot be directly measured but only inferred from observational data. In this paper, a large-scale survey of terrain-induced low-level turbulence intensity around the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) during tropical cyclone (TC) passage is presented, utilizing EDR1/3 values determined from multiple remote sensing and in situ sources, including the scanning Doppler lidar, the terminal Doppler weather radar (TDWR), a high-resolution anemometer, and the operational Windshear and Turbulence Warning System (WTWS) at HKIA. Over a 18 720-min study period spanning five TC cases between 2010 and 2012, ground-based EDR1/3 was computed using a variety of first-principle and empirical methods and was shown to demonstrate a strong linear correlation with airborne values determined from quick access recorder (QAR) data of over 350 landing flights. Spatiotemporal features as experienced on board aircraft were also reproduced by the lidar- and TDWR-derived profiles. Positive skill could be extracted from threshold-based alerting of low-level turbulence events by considering each ground-based source individually, while a combination of lidar and TDWR alerts demonstrated enhanced performance and hence the potential value of complementary surveillance under clear-air and in rain conditions. This study serves to establish the ability of ground-based instruments in correlating with airborne EDR1/3 and the performance of threshold-based alerting algorithms for turbulence events, contributing toward improvements in turbulence-alerting techniques for the aviation community.

Protocol to the Tokyo Convention of 1963: A Legal Triumph or Damp Squib?

After lengthy preparation and much deliberation, a Diplomatic Conference under the auspices of ICAO was convened in April 2014 with a view to adopting a Protocol to the Tokyo Convention of 1963 on the subject of unruly passengers. The Conference had various issues for discussion, not the least of which were matters of jurisdiction and enhanced security on board aircraft. The Protocol which was adopted as a result of the Conference was signed by only one fifth of the States participating, where all of Europe and most of North America abstained. Even among the developing States, only a handful signed. It is too early to say whether the new Protocol will suffer the same fate as most treaties adopted under the auspices of ICAO, and be shelved with few ratifications. This article addresses key issues of the Protocol and analyses the major differences between the draft Protocol submitted to the Conference and the final Protocol adopted. It also contains a discussion on the significance of the jurisdictional issues and the relevance of the In-flight Security Officer (IFSO) on board an aircraft and includes a commentary on the issues which faced the Conference and the expectation of States involved. There is also a discussion on a Resolution adopted by the Diplomatic Conference.

Atmospheric CO2, δ(O2/N2), APO and oxidative ratios from aircraft flask samples over Fyodorovskoye, Western Russia

We present atmospheric CO2 and δ(O2/N2) from flask samples taken on board aircraft over Fyodorovskoye (56°27′N, 32°55′E) at heights of 3000 m and 100 m between 1998 and 2008. The long-term trends for CO2 and δ(O2/N2) are similar for both sampling heights, and also similar to observations from marine background station Mace Head (Ireland) and coastal station Lutjewad (the Netherlands). The seasonal CO2 amplitude at 100 m was almost twice as large as at 3000 m and a phase shift in the seasonality of about two weeks between both sampling heights was observed. This indicates a dominant influence on CO2 in the boundary layer from the regional biosphere which is confirmed by analysis of the δ(O2/N2) to CO2 oxidative ratio (OR). Together with simulations with the TM3 model, our data suggest that the observed OR of −1.7 ± 0.2 in the free troposphere is mainly driven by exchange processes with the ocean. Within the boundary layer an OR of −0.89 ± 0.12 was observed which supports the results of other recent studies suggesting the commonly used value of −1.1 for biospheric OR is likely too low.

The conundrum of the inflight security officer (IFSO)

A heightened awareness of the need for strengthened security on board aircraft surfaced in the aftermath of the events of 9/11 where armed hijackers took over several aircraft and deviated them to targets on the ground. Awareness of aviation security and the need for implementation of more stringent security measures inside the aircraft, both while it is on ground and when it is airborne, became critical determinants. One could well ask the question, if there are “bouncers” at night clubs, railway security in the trains, and hotel security in hotels to protect hapless staff who serve customers, why is there no such protection for the transportation industry? At any given time, aircraft of commercial airlines keep 1.2 million passengers aloft. In the process, these airlines carry thieves, pickpockets, drug addicts and con men, among other passengers. Most States do not have legislation to respond to crimes on board aircraft. A few years ago, there was concern in the airline industry for a stewardess who was critically wounded with a knife by a drunken passenger who was a British subject, on board an aircraft flying over German territory and registered in the Middle East. When the aircraft landed in its destination, the offender was only fined $1,000 and released, as there were no laws in that country which would apply to the offense. In September 2001 after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the United States Government decided that most, if not all, domestic US flights are to have "air marshals" carrying firearms on board. In December 2003 the British Government decided to deploy armed undercover sky marshals to counter heightened fears of terrorist attacks. This measure involved the presence on board British aircraft of undisclosed, highly trained police marks-men with special low-veloocity arms. Other possible measures taken included changes to screening at airports, improving the protection of airliners on the ground and security systems to prevent hijacks.

In-field calibration of the Navigation Dosimetry System (NAVIDOS) during solar minimum conditions

The NAVIgation DOsimetry System (NAVIDOS) comprises a complete readout system for a radiation detec- tor, an air pressure sensor and a GPS receiver. The detector system DOSTEL uses silicon detectors which make NAVI- DOS light weighted and compact in size. Therefore, NAVI- DOS is well suited to be installed on board aircraft. The cal- ibration of NAVIDOS in terms of ambient dose equivalent is done by an in-field comparison with the PTB reference in- strument DOS. We also show that the dependence of these results on the vertical cut-off rigidity can be explained by the low response of the silicon detectors for neutrons. Therefore, in-flight measurements have been performed together with the PTB reference instrument DOS. The dose rates, cal- culated using the PTB code FDOScalc, were verified with these DOS measurements. The calibration of NAVIDOS was done with FDOScalc and results in calibration factors between 3.4 in the polar and 2.4 in the equator region.

Cresyl Saligenin Phosphate, an Organophosphorus Toxicant, Makes Covalent Adducts with Histidine, Lysine, and Tyrosine Residues of Human Serum Albumin

CBDP [2-(2-cresyl)-4H-1-3-2-benzodioxaphosphorin-2-oxide] is a toxic organophosphorus compound. It is generated in vivo from tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate (TOCP), a component of jet engine oil and hydraulic fluids. Exposure to TOCP was proven to occur on board aircraft by finding CBDP-derived phospho-butyrylcholinesterase in the blood of passengers. Adducts on BChE, however, do not explain the toxicity of CBDP. Critical target proteins of CBDP are yet to be identified. Our goal was to facilitate the search for the critical targets of CBDP by determining the range of amino acid residues capable of reacting with CBDP and characterizing the types of adducts formed. We used human albumin as a model protein. Mass spectral analysis of the tryptic digest of CBDP-treated human albumin revealed adducts on His-67, His-146, His-242, His-247, His-338, Tyr-138, Tyr-140, Lys-199, Lys-351, Lys-414, Lys-432, and Lys-525. Adducts formed on tyrosine residues were different from those formed on histidines and lysines. Tyrosines were organophosphorylated by CBDP, while histidine and lysine residues were alkylated. This is the first report of an organophosphorus compound with both phosphorylating and alkylating properties. The o-hydroxybenzyl adduct on histidine is novel. The ability of CBDP to form stable adducts on histidine, tyrosine, and lysine allows one to consider new mechanisms of toxicity from TOCP exposure.

Contaminated aircraft cabin air: aspects of causation and acceptable risk

→→ → → → 1. Tricresyl phosphates added to gas turbine lubricating oil (as antiwear agents) 2. Air bled off the gas turbines contains tricresyl phosphates (and, possibly, their decomposition products) 3. Aircraft cabin air contains tricresyl phosphates 4. Tricresyl phosphates are inhaled by everyone on board aircraft using bleed air to pressurize the cabin 5. Neural damage occurs 6. A variety of psychological disorders ensues

ICAO’s Latest Efforts to Tackle Legal Issues Arising from Unruly/Disruptive Passengers: The Modernization of the Tokyo Convention 1963

Air traffic demand has grown without parallel. Since each day, more and more people travel by air, it may well be expected that more and more incidents involving unruly/disruptive passengers will occur. The international aviation community is experiencing a steady increase in unruly/disruptive passenger incidents. Although these may be attributed to a variety of factors, lack of prosecution and enforcement may also help to explain this emerging phenomenon. Although, the Tokyo Convention is one of the most widely-ratified instruments ever developed under the auspices of ICAO, it presents a number of shortcomings. In order to address this issue, ICAO developed Circular 288, 'Guidance Material on Legal Aspects of Unruly/Disruptive Passengers'. The Circular sets out a model law on certain offences committed on board civil aircraft to be transposed into national legislation by ICAO member States. Unfortunately, the majority of ICAO member States have not implemented the Circular. In 2009, the ICAO Council decided to establish a Secretariat Study Group (STG). Meeting twice in 2011, STG discussed issues involving unruly behavior on board aircraft, the lack of harmonized enforcement procedures, the power of the aircraft commander and the related safeguards, jurisdiction, and the lack of clear definitions or common standards. STG recommended a holistic revision of the Tokyo Convention. On 15 November 2011, the ICAO Council agreed to convene a meeting of the Legal Sub-Committee (22-25 May 2012) to examine a possible modernization of the Tokyo Convention.

Integrating Best-Equipped, Best-Served Principles in Ground Delay Programs

Future air traffic management systems will consist not only of enhanced ground equipment, but also upgrades and new systems on board aircraft. One way to incentivize aircraft equipage is through prioritization of flights operated by equipped aircraft in traffic management initiatives. In this paper, the principle of best-equipped, best-served is examined as to its potential role in incentivizing equipage and enhancing the efficiency of Ground Delay Programs through the lens of several important policy issues pertaining to the allocation of these benefits. Three alternate allocation methods recognizing equipage in conjunction with schedule order and other parameters are described. These methods are evaluated using a case study at Newark Liberty International Airport, a delay-prone node in the airspace system of the United States. Several equipage scenarios are examined, with particular attention paid to both the magnitude and distribution of the benefits realized from integrating best-equipped, best-served principles into ground delay programs.

A Case of Active Tuberculosis in a Cabin Crew: The Results of Contact Tracing

Transmission of communicable diseases on board aircraft is of considerable concern for passengers and aircrew. Previously published estimates of risk of tuberculosis (TB) transmission have been highly variable. Furthermore, very few studies have been published for active TB in aircrew. The public health authorities advised the Medical Advisor of an airline that a cabin crewmember had been diagnosed with active TB. Contact tracing was done for the cabin crew who worked with the index case for more than 8 h. Cabin crewmembers were divided in two groups according to their exposure and had one tuberculin skin test (TST) more than 8 wk after the last exposure. Those with a TST > or = 5 mm have been recommended to have a QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT) assay. Among the 56 identified contacts, 32 agreed to be evaluated, of whom 6 (19%) had a TST > or = 5 mm. Of those six, four underwent a QFT with one positive result. None had active TB. The percentages of positives in the two exposure groups were similar. All the positive contacts were born in Canada in the period when the childhood Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination program was in effect. The same percentage of positives in the two exposure groups, the proportion of positive contacts below the expected rate in Canadians, and the high proportion of QFT negative among the TST positive contacts suggest that transmission of TB to the cabin crew is unlikely.

An unheated permeation device for calibrating atmospheric VOC measurements

Abstract. The development of an unpowered permeation device for continuous calibration of in-situ instruments measuring atmospheric volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is described. Being lightweight and compact, and containing only negligible amounts of chemicals, the device is especially suited for field use such as on board aircraft. Its speciality is to maintain the permeation process in thermal equilibrium, so that the instantaneous permeation rate can be ascribed to a simple temperature measurement. This equilibrium state is maintained by a combination of three features: (i) a thin PTFE membrane as permeation medium which guarantees short stabilization times, (ii) a water bath as heat buffer, and (iii) a vacuum-panel based insulation, in which features (ii) and (iii) minimize temperature drifts to ~30 mK h−1 per Kelvin temperature difference to the environment. The respective uncertainty of the permeation rate due to thermal non-equilibrium is kept below 1%. An extensive theory part details the major permeation processes of gases through porous polymers, being Fick's diffusion, Knudsen flow, and viscous flow. Both the measured stabilization time and the measured temperature dependence of the permeation rate independently indicate that the permeation can be described by a viscous flow model, where diffusion of the gas molecules in large pores (having a diameter of >0.05 μm) dominates.

Calibrating adaptive antenna arrays for high-integrity GPS

A major challenge in using GPS guidance for aircraft final approach and landing is to reject interference that can jam reception of the GPS signals. Antenna arrays, which use space---time adaptive processing (STAP), significantly improve the signal to interference plus noise ratio, but at the possible expense of distorting the received signals, leading to timing biases that may degrade navigation performance. Rather than a sophisticated calibration approach to remove biases introduced by STAP, this paper demonstrates that a relatively compact calibration strategy can substantially reduce navigation biases, even under elevated interference conditions. Consequently, this paper develops an antenna bias calibration strategy for two classes of adaptive array algorithm and validates this method using both simulated and experimental data with operational hardware in the loop. A proof-of-concept system and an operational prototype are described, which implement the adaptive antenna algorithms and deterministic corrections. This investigation demonstrates that systems with adaptive antenna arrays can approach the accuracy and integrity requirements for automatic aircraft landing, and in particular for sea-based landing on board aircraft carriers, while simultaneously providing significant attenuation of interference. Evidence suggests that achieving these goals is possible with minimal restrictions on system hardware configuration--specifically, limitations on the permissible level of antenna anisotropy and the use of sufficient analog-to-digital converter resolution.

Equipment for testing the indications accuracy of speedometers and altimeters existing on board aircraft and the tightness of the related pneumatic paths

The equipment is intended to testing the tightness of the catchment pneumatic system (Pitot tube), the transmission (pneumatic paths) and the total and static air pressures processing (aircrafttype instruments in order to establish the main flight parameters and checking the correctness of the operation of related aircraft instruments: the altimeter and the speedometer.

Use of energy deposition spectrometer Liulin for individual monitoring of aircrew

Silicon energy deposition spectrometer Liulin was primarily developed for cosmic radiation monitoring onboard spacecrafts. Nowadays, Liulin type detectors are also used to characterise radiation field on board aircraft, at alpine observatories and behind the shielding of heavy ion accelerators. In this work, experiments and calibrations performed in these radiation fields are presented and the method developed for calculation of ambient dose equivalent H*(10) on board aircraft is described. Since 2001, a simple method employing the energy deposition spectra had been used to determine H*(10) on board aircraft but, in 2004, it became clear that the resulting values were strongly biased at locations close to Earth's equator. An improved method for the determination of H*(10) on board aircraft using the Liulin detector was developed. It took into account the composition of the radiation field via the ratio of absorbed doses D(low) and D(neut) reflecting the contributions from low-LET particles and neutrons, respectively. It resulted in much better agreement with the EPCARD computer code for all aircraft locations; relative differences were within 11 % for low-LET and 20 % for neutron components of H*(10).

Gyro stabilization system of a gravimeter

Features of the stabilization system of a gravimeter used on board aircraft are considered. In error analysis of the system, the scaling errors of the gyros and accelerometers are considered along with the errors in the orientation of their measuring axes relative to the gyroplatform axes. The results from simulations are presented. The problems of selecting the correct stabilization system response time to achieve the most efficient gravimetric survey are discussed. Recommendations on the accuracy of orienting the measuring axes of the sensitive elements are given. The influence of the aircraft maneuvering parameters on the accuracy of the system is considered.

Air Travel and TB: An airline perspective

The commercial airline industry in the 21st century is a global business, able to transport large numbers of people to almost any part of the world within a few hours. There has long been concern in public health circles about the potential for transmission of communicable diseases, such as TB, on board aircraft. The recent threats from novel and emerging infectious diseases including SARS and pandemic flu has facilitated unprecedented levels of cooperation between international industry representatives, regulators and public health authorities in addressing the issues of air travel and communicable disease. This paper reviews the regulatory environment, ways in which the risks are mitigated through aspects of aircraft design, opportunities for prevention by identifying individuals who may be suffering from a communicable disease prior to flight and the approach used in managing suspected cases of communicable disease on board aircraft.